I’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about the TV series Downton Abbey, which is set in 1916. As a result of the show’s popularity there’s been a resurgence in interest in Edwardian fashion and jewellery. Some will get all pedantic and claim the Edwardian era ended with the death of King Edward in 1910, the broader style era lasted until the end of WW1. In France, this time span was known as the Belle Époque. In America, it was the Gilded Age.

At any rate, it was a fine time for jewels. I thought I’d share some of my pieces from that transitional period.

I like a good, weighty pen. I especially like fountain pens. My best pen is the Parker 51 pictured at the top. The Co-Op Cabs Bic pen is pretty sweet too.

I’ve been admiring all the 20-year-olds on the Queen Streetcar with their effortless top knots. I tried to recreate the look myself, but I have a funny shaped head — flat in the back, weird weird hairline — and it never looked right. So yesterday morning I tried a modified top knot. I sectioned my hair into three parts. I pulled a section in the back into one bun so the back had some volume. I twisted the section in the front into a little quiff so the front had some lift. And I piled the middle third into a messy top knot. It got a little wilty by the end of the day, but overall I felt good about it.

Found an 1992 issue of Mirabella. In my memory, it was a fancy mag, but looking at it today, everything seems to have such low production values. I was especially surprised that the ads for the luxury brands appeared understyled. Really, Hermès? You tie a scarf around a model’s boobs and that’s it? And if 1991 was the year punk broke, why, in 1992, do all the accessories (like the Tiffany jewels pictured below) still have the lingering scent of 1980s opulence?

Feel like posting lots of pictures today. Not so much into writing or researching. So, for your blog reading pleasure, here is a collection of various mid century costume jewellery necklaces that I used to have (but don’t any more). All garage sale discoveries.

As is tradition, I will celebrate Robbie Burns Day with posting pictures of all things Scots. This year we have some Victorian pebble jewellery as well as some kilt pins (the one in the shape of a sword is hallmarked 1891) and an 1950s-era brooch. Being 1/4 Scot, I’ve got tonnes more Scottish things (like this Pat Albeck-designed, thistle patterned tea towel) but I’ll have to save something for next year, right?

Smoking may not be good for you but at one point it was glamourous. I have old auction catalogues filled with jewel encrusted cigarette cases and lighters and amber and ivory pipes and holders. I’ve seen beautiful glass match strikes and elegantly engraved match safes. And don’t forget about whimsical cigar cutters and clever lighters. I don;t have anything like that, of course. I found this leather bound cigarette case and copper and plastic holder in a box on the sidewalk a couple of years ago. But even at the most workaday level, smokers still had rituals and accessories devoted to their habits.

While I’m not a big fan of winter, I do like jewels that remind me of snow and ice. The colour of the stones above are exactly the same shade of blue that you see when an iceberg cleaves in half. The bubbles and grooves in the acrylic ring pictured below look like an ice cube melting in a glass. And my new pearl earrings remind me of snowballs. If I wore them all together, I would be the ice queen!

In olden days, folks just came with a lot more accessories. And rituals. For example, in China, even though the art of calligraphy was revered, you still had a seal with your name or symbol on it that you used to dip into red ink or cinnabar paste to stamp on official documents. This seal was known as a “chop.”

I have a chop. Somebody brought it back from China for me, but I don’t remember who anymore (sorry). It’s made of stone with a horse (I’m a fire horse — whoever picked this out for me really knew me well) on top. This seal supposedly is the phonetic version of my name (really, somebody took a lot of care to bring me this back as a present and I am the world’s worst human for not remembering who gave it to me). Unless I find out that this seal actually translates to “world’s worst human” and then I wouldn’t feel so bad.

Happy Lunar New Year and welcome to the year of the Water Dragon. I wish you all a prosperous 365 days. I also wish I was getting a red envelope with this John Hardy Naga Dragon bracelet in it.